Essay Structure
Introduction
An essay is a structured piece of writing containing the ideas or findings of an individual on an issue. Before writing an essay, one requires to make a draft of the main ideas to include in the essay. This makes the essay easier to write since it will follow a certain order. An essay must have a key idea that the write would like the reader to understand. The key ideas should be in a clear manner that the reader will be able to follow. It should focus on only those points that are relevant to the reader’s information. An essay should be argumentative in nature and not descriptive. The writer should also be in a position to argue his/her main points without plagiarizing another writer’s work.
The general purpose of this essay is to determine what different people consider as value while choosing university education. This is in view with the current economic climate and the rise in university tuition fees. The essay will describe how the high cost of living has contributed to the choice of university a student enrolls. It will discuss the factors that students take into account while choosing a university. It will take into explore factors such as the amount of tuition fees paid, the rank of the university in the country among others. The essay will discuss the views of the employer, and the role they play in determining the value of university education. It will also define the courses offered in the university, and their relevance in the job market.
At the end of the essay, there will be recommendations. The essay will propose measures that the university administration can take to improve value in the institutions. It will recommend measures that students should take into account to ensure they get value for the high tuition fees they pay. It will give the measures the students can take to caution themselves against the rising cost of living.
Key Sections of the Essay
The essay will include various sections. There will be an introductory paragraph describing the main point in brief. The introduction will have a topic sentence, which describes the main thesis statement. It will describe in brief what determines value when considering a university education given the current economic climate, and the proposed rise in university tuition fees. Following the topic sentence, there will be other supporting sentences describing the factors that determine value to a student in brief.
The next section of the essay will be the body. This is the main area of the essay that describes in detail the thesis statement. It will have a topic sentence introducing the main idea in brief. Supporting sentences will then follow the topic sentence elaborating the main idea. These sentences will describe how the current economic climate has adversely affected university education by raising the fees. They will discuss how the rise in tuition fees affects the value of university education. The body of the essay will elaborate on the factors students take into account while considering joining university. The body of the essay will finally detail the role the views of employers play in determining the value of education.
The final section of the essay will be the conclusion. It gives a recap of the main thesis statement. The conclusion includes the recommendations of the writer. This essay will give a conclusion on the factors that employers look for when determining value. It will propose measures that universities should consider to ensure that they maintain the value of their education. It will explain the courses that a university can discard to improve its value.
Key Points of the Essay
Each section of the essay will discuss a specific point. In the introduction, the essay will state the thesis statement in brief. There are no sources required in this section. The key point in this section is to describe the value of university education. Different people have different views on what amounts to value in a university education. The way employers view value of education is different from the students’ perspective. Employers will base the employees’ salaries on their level of education. A university graduate will receive a higher salary than a high school graduate will. The graduate will receive better housing and allowances as extra benefits. A student’s measure of the value of university education will depend on the gains obtained from it. There are people that have succeeded in business without necessarily having a university degree. To them the degree is of no value since they are already successful. Other students value university education. They view it as the key to a successful life that will lead to a bright future. Therefore, everyone is entitled to an opinion on what constitutes value in university education.
The body of the essay will carry the bulk of the essay elaborating the thesis statement. The key point is to discuss how the current economic climate has affected institutions. Most universities are proposing to increase the amount of tuition fees they charge on their courses. This is because workers are demanding more wages to caution themselves against the high cost of living. Universities are also in competition and to them the higher the fees, the better the institution. This leads the focus of universities drawn to making money out of the students compromising the value of education offered. This in turn leads to employers reconsidering the graduates they take to work. The employers will scrutinize the institution a graduate attended to determine if he/she had valuable education. The sources describing this section will include material quoted from academic books and journals.
At the end of the, essay there will be a summary of the main points and recommendations. A questionnaire may be appropriate if included at the end of the essay as an appendix. It gives the reader an opportunity to find out the responses interviewees gave. It shows the order in which to ask questions. In this case, a questionnaire will show the different views on the current unstable economic climate. It will highlight the feelings of people on the proposed raise in university tuition fees. People will be in a position to give the opinions of people on what constitutes value as far as university education is concerned. The questionnaire will be crucial since it will target a specific group of respondents. In this situation, it will target university administration, students in the university and employers. An open questionnaire is the most appropriate in gathering as much information as possible from the respondents.
The Essay
The rising cost of university education is causing many students to doubt the value and relevance of continuing with education beyond high school. Many students would consider taking up full-time employment with their high school education (Cohn and Geske, 1992). This is to avoid taking up loans to pay for their university education, which leads to accumulation of debts. The students argue that the university education may not be of much value if they still can secure a job without it (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). Employers on the other hand value the university education highly. They are afraid that an employee may demand high wages if he/she is a university graduate.
The value of higher education is different for different people. To some people, it is worth investing in university education. According to the Census Bureau, in an individual’s working life, “high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate’s degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor’s degree holders earn about $2.1 million” (Day and Newburger, 2002, p. 45). This illustrates the need to invest in higher education despite the challenges involved.
Higher education is relevant in an individual’s social life. (Cohn and Geske, 1992), describe a positive correlation. View of their past and future progress. There is a tendency for more educated women to spend time with their
children. These women use this time to better prepare their children for the future (p. 24)
Completing higher education also improves one’s health. It is clear that, “parental schooling levels are positively correlated with the health status of their children” (Cohn and Geske, 1992). This is an added advantage for people with higher education.
A report published in 1998 by the Institute for Higher Education Policy states the views of employers in determining the value of university education.
Employers will base the amount of salaries paid out to employees depending on their level of education. University
students will get more than their high school colleagues (p. 30).
The Census Bureau also mentions the value of university education. Given the high cost of living, it is prudent to take a loan and invest in higher education. Day and Newburger, (2002), state in part that:
The opportunity cost of choosing university education over full-time employment is worth the investment. People that guaranteed employment, and one can pay off the loan (p. 45) .
It is clear from the article above that investing in higher education is of importance to an individual. Taking a loan to pay university tuition fees is a right decision if a person expects to enjoy life in future.
Conclusion
It may be a challenge for students in the low-income bracket to pursue university education. This is due to the rising cost of living, and the proposed raise in university tuition fees. The government, however, offers loans to these students at low rates of interest so they are able to join university. A student may choose to take the loan or not depending on how he/she values university education. A student may opt for employment after high school instead of joining college. However, the benefits of investing in higher education far outweigh the costs. Employers regard highly those employees with a university degree. The value of university education is high, and despite the high cost of living, it is worth investing in higher education.
Reference List
Cohn, E., and Geske, T.G., 1992. Private Non-monetary Returns to Investment in Higher Education. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Day, J.C., and Newburger, E.C., 2002. The Big Pay off: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. (Current population Reports, Special Studies, p23-210).
Washington, DC: Commerce Dept., Economics and Statistics Administration, Census Bureau. [On-line]. Available: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002/pubs/p23-210.pdf
Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998. Reaping the Benefits: Defining the Public and Private Value of Going to College. The New Millennium Project on Higher Education Costs, Pricing and Productivity. Washington, DC.
Wolfe, B.L., 1994. External Benefits of Education. International Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford; New York: Pergamon Press.
